Hold the hockey stick like this.
Think with me: you’re in your favorite big box sporting goods emporium. As you make your way through the various winter sportswear, you see a gaggle of sticks standing up against a wall. Now imagine yourself grasping one of them.
But instead of standing it with the blade on the ground, grab it with both hands and hold it parallel to the ground with the blade aiming toward the sky.
Now imagine drawing that image on a chart. That, my friend, is the very picture of the explosive growth of movements toward Jesus in the Muslim world.
This is how Muslims are coming to Jesus right now.
In fact, researcher and historian Dr. David Garrison documents over 60 movements of Christ in the Muslim world.
His 2012 book, Wind in the House of Islam, describes these movements (Garrison describes a movement as a group of 1,000 or more followers of Christ from a Muslim background). He travelled around the world, collecting hundreds of interviews and personal stories of men and women who gave their allegiance to Jesus Christ.
Even though most sent ones know about these stories, the average Christian is unaware that God is on the move in such a dramatic way. Most people think that Muslims are resistant to Christianity and are hostile toward Christians. But in reality, many Muslims are attracted to Jesus.
But it hasn’t always been like this. Which brings us back to the hockey stick.
For over 1,000 years, - from the beginning of Islam in the 8th century to the late 18th century- very few Muslims accepted the invitation to follow Christ. That’s the straight line of the hockey stick.
During those centuries, sent ones would pack their belongings in their coffins. Because they expected to die there. Their hope: to see one ‘convert’ in their lifetime.
But in the beginning of the 19th century, it became more common to hear stories of individual Muslims who decided to follow Jesus as Lord. So sent ones began to pray for the privilege of planting a church during their lifetime. And so it happened.
By the middle of the 20th century, many sent ones boldly asked for these churches to become movements. Now that it was becoming more common to hear about small house churches scattered about the Muslim world, they wondered: “now that we know about these churches, let’s ask God to see movements of churches. Let’s pray for thousands of Muslims, tens of thousands of Muslims meeting together in homes and multiplying so fast that we cannot count them.”
And it was so! As Dr Garrison reports, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were only two movements of Christ from Muslim tribes. But by the beginning of the 21st century, there were at least 60!
That is why we call it a ‘hockey stick’ chart. There was little movement for many long years (the long part of the stick). Then slowly, a few movements were reported (the curve of the blade). Then an explosion of growth in our generation (the big part of the blade). Thus: a hockey stick chart.
10 years later, God continues to be on the move.
Now, ten years after Garrison’s book, still more movements are emerging.
Personally, I’ve been researching how Muslims come to faith. And I participated with David and his research. Having interviewed these followers of Jesus in jungles and crowded cities, I can testify that Muslims are truly coming to Jesus. Here is an article that I wrote about that.
Let's recap:
- First, the prayers of the saints for sent ones were: one lifetime, one Muslim who follows Jesus.
- Centuries later, Christians prayed for: one lifetime, one church.
- Now, we are praying: one lifetime, one movement.
Could this be the season for one lifetime, many movements?
These days, I pray that God raises up sent ones who will invest their lives to bear many movements through their influence and impact. That's why I focus my time on raising up leaders who raise up other leaders.
You and I live in a generation that is witnessing the work of God like never before in history.
What a humbling thought.
So whenever I am tempted to despair about the world today, my thoughts turn to that hockey stick.
God is at work. Still. Always.